Live from eWorld
September 27th, 2007 at 04:58am Sean Delaney - Iasta UK
Well, it’s amazing how quickly the eWorld conference comes around. This time there has been a seismic shift in the market. Not only has the number of vendors shrunk (4 less than in February) there has now become a more definitive split between technology and service providers.
The purchase of Procuri by Ariba has given buyers far less choice in the market and that has been reflected in the number and quality of vendors offering eSourcing solutions. This may be disappointing to some users but at least it has given the market far more clarity.
Colonel Tim Collins lunchtime keynote was over subscribed (famous for his speech given to troops on the eve of the 2nd Iraq conflict). Life & Death Procurement: Leadership on the Corporate Battlefield was noted as a highlight of the day by many of the delegates.
I suppose going to war needs to be simple but even more important is that you need to be right first time. The Colonel listed 6 key areas which in his view were essential for survival in the corporate procurement. I think these have direct relevance with many successful implementations I have seen of eSourcing and worthy of note:
- Get your priorities right - know why you exist
- Get organisation right
- Get the right people into the organisation
- Get the right spirit in the organisation
- Get your instructions on the day to day right
- Let them the get on with it.
Now we have seen these expressed in many different ways in the past but the fact that the Colonel articulated them in the framework of war gave the message added resonance.
However, I would add there remains one fundamental difference that within a war zone the incentives to get it right are obvious. Whilst in a corporate environment there are both personal and corporate objectives at play. In order to be successful these need to be aligned and require further incentives to be put in place i.e. remuneration aligned to corporate procurement goals.
On a final note, it was great to see Aberdeen here for the first time and certainly the feedback was extremely positive. Their opening keynote was a great way to set the scene for the rest of the day.
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Entry Filed under: Supply Management Best Practices, Technology / SaaS, e-Sourcing Marketplace
3 Comments Add your own
1. Jason B | September 28th, 2007 at 8:10 am
I think you presume too much. No one knows what Ariba’s plans are for Procuri at this time. Many folks have said that they intend to run Procuri as a division so the technology and service they have made famous will still be available to the market.
More importantly…small players like IASTA are going ot have to struggle even more when confronted with Procuri service and deeper resources to support them.
2. Sean Delaney - Iasta UK | September 28th, 2007 at 8:36 am
Thanks for taking the time to comment Jason.
One thing you are right about is that noboby knows Ariba’s plans for Procuri. If as you are suggesting Ariba doesn’t even know then it is even more surprising since they are the guys that spent a shed load of cash on what you are implying is a whim! (I think Ariba have a good idea and the fact they have not commented suggests it’s not exactly what Procuri customers want to hear).
My observations at eWorld were based on direct feedback from attendees including some very irritated Procuri customers.
What is really interesting is that if Iasta are so insignificant why have you gone out of your way to read and comment on our blog? All I can say is thanks for commenting!
3. David Bush - Iasta | September 28th, 2007 at 8:38 am
“Many folks”? I doubt you have been part of very many overlap acquisitions and the only “folk” that matter will end up being Calderoni and his team. It is very wishful thinking to think that two separate business units doing the same thing will operate side-by-side. Good luck with that, and even more luck with getting an Ariba sales rep to sell Procuri solutions. No chance. I have been there, have you? It wont work.
Sean’s post was barely even about the acquistion but it was enough to elicit cheap shots from the gallery. It sounds like tensions are high. By saying we will “struggle even more” by the deeper resources we now face, means you know nothing about what we are doing. “Struggling” should be the last word you would use to describe us and your ignorance will only make us stronger.
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